It’s been a long while since my last post here because I’ve been entertaining visitors at my place in Haifa since 24 January when my brother-in-law arrived from southern California. Then on 1 February my father arrived from northern California – their visits overlapped a tiny bit, and I’ve been going non-stop ever since!

On the pier at Nahariya

Spent one day up in Nahariyyah with Payam and some friends walking the beach, the piers and the town, enjoying schnitzel at the Penguin Restaurant. The weather was blowy but nice and we stood on the pier looking towards the north, and to the south back to Mt. Carmel above the city of Haifa. The distances are so small here when compared with driving in California.

Counting waves at Nahariyih

Walked around with my brother-in-law while he took photos with his super fancy camera….

My photographer brother-in-law in his element!

Walking the gardens at Bahjí at sunset when the lights were turned on.

Bahjí near sunset

On a walking tour with my father in the area of Haifa downtown named the Hadar….lots of interesting shops and restaurants. Note an international landmark behind him…..

Dad in the Hadar near the McDonalds and two street musicians

My Dad will be here in Israel for a few more days…….more blogs to come.

This morning found me piling out of bed at 4:45am to get ready for a sherut ride out to Bahjí just north of ‘Akká. The normal hour drive in traffic is only about thirty minutes on a quiet Shabat Saturday morning. The air was cold waiting for the Sherut on Hatzionut Avenue at 6am and even colder (about 45 degrees) once we got out at Bahjí. At 6:45 the sun had just barely risen and the rosy colour was visible above the trees.

One Saturday when most of the buses were not running and things were VERY quiet because of Shabbat….I was invited to go with friends in their car out to Bahjí. This is the estate to the north of Haifa where Baha’u’llah went to live when he was released from the prison in ‘Akká. At the time he was there – 1879 to 1892 when he passed away – it looked nothing like it looks today. It was an old country mansion with small outbuildings and no gardens. People got there by donkey, cart or by walking.

The real work of the design of the gardens was started by Shoghi Effendi and his vision has been carried on even after his passing in 1957. This historical photo below was taken from the south and my photos below that show where we entered from the west.